Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter or Oh My Goddess.
Fortunately for Harry, Hagrid was more than happy to let the whole "Dragon egg that never was" incident go. The Great Dane puppy they gave him helped to heal any lingering wounds, a pet Hagrid promptly called "Norbert." Hagrid's other dog, Fang, initially seemed to be scared of Norbert but the two quickly bonded.
The exam period at Hogwarts almost came as a surprise to Harry, who had become accustomed to the daily routine at the boarding school. Hermione seemingly became obsessed with preparing for the upcoming tests, preparing study schedules for Harry, Ron and Neville as well as badgering them all to revise whenever they had a spare moment. Neville commented that the schedule he had been given had only five minutes set aside for meals on Tuesdays, an observation that embarrassed Hermione so much that she tried to hide from her friends. That did not last as Ron persuaded Lavender to talk Hermione into being with her friends again. Harry was surprised that Ron had taken the initiative and had mentioned it to the red-head. Ron's only reply was "thanks to the twins I've been there before, and I know hiding doesn't help."
The tests themselves came as a relief for Harry, as he had been privately stressed by the whole experience leading up to them. Harry was surprised at just how relieved he felt after the last one, as he had actually enjoyed the practical side of the exams. The first years were now in a dead time that fell between the end of year tests and the actual end of the schooling year. This time was far from empty, as the other years were going through their tests. This meant that all of the fifth and seventh year students were very stressed, the sixth year students advising all and sundry to give them space. Even with that pressure, there was one more Quidditch game to prepare for, in which Gryffindor would play against Ravenclaw. Thanks to Slytherin winning against both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, the House of Snakes was now even on team victories with Gryffindor. Ravenclaw had won against Hufflepuff, but would need to win with a large points margin to stand a chance of gaining the Hogwarts Inter-House Quidditch Cup. Harry had asked Ron about the scoring system to Harry after another of Oliver Wood's training sessions.
"The House with the most wins gets the cup," Ron had explained, "but because each team only plays three games a year there's a good chance of a tie. If that happens the cup goes to the team that scored the most points in their three games."
Harry nodded as he thought about it. "So that means that if we win against Ravenclaw, we get the cup because we'll have three wins for the year."
"Right," Ron agreed.
"But if we lose then it goes to us or Slytherin, depending on which team got the most points." Harry concluded.
"Right," Ron agreed again, "but thanks to Slytherin beating the 'puffs and 'claws into the dirt, they've got the most points right now. If we lose to Ravenclaw, we'll have to have scored at least five hundred points to get the cup."
"For Ravenclaw to win the cup," Neville interjected, "they have to win the game with at least nine hundred points. Which means their Seeker will be under a lot of pressure to avoid catching the Snitch too early, and will be trying to keep you away from it."
The impending Quidditch game had Oliver Wood pushing the Gryffindor team hard again. He was forced to relax on his training schedule after a comment from one of the Weasley twins about the OWLs and NEWTs, but Harry still found himself being woken up early to get in an hour or more of practice before breakfast.
With the end of year tests for the first year students now complete, their classes were more relaxed and aimed at providing a revision of everything they had covered up to that date. Their teachers were a bit distracted as the rest of the school were still in the middle of their tests, resulting in no homework being assigned. Harry's debates with Draco had stopped during the tests due to all concerned being too busy with their studies, but the two had agreed to one last session before the end of the school year.
With no homework to distract her, Hermione had gone overboard in researching the various topics that Harry and Draco had been discussing over the year. She had written some arguments for Harry to try at his next debate, and had decided that she wanted to come along to watch. Neville was still attending every session, often acting as a quasi-moderator, so Ron elected to join in as well rather than be the odd one out. Accordingly, the four friends made their way to the usual room that Harry and Draco used for their talks just a few days before the end of term.
Hermione's presence at the debate made Draco hesitate at first, but when it became clear that she was only there to support Harry rather than take part directly the mood relaxed. It was a good session overall, with both sides learning from each other. Draco, for example, had been surprised when Harry explained the nature of the modern air travel industry, and how it meant that muggles could travel great distances with relatively no effort required. Many wizards apparently still believed that muggles still used sailing ships for overseas travel, though how Draco could have known about helicopters (as he had bragged about during a broom flying lesson) and not known about jet aircraft was a mystery that Harry could not figure out.
For Harry, just learning about the different forms of magical travel was a revelation. While he was familiar with the Floo network thanks to his adopted family using it on a daily basis for Urd's shop and Sirius' visits, he had not yet been introduced to concepts such as portkeys and apparition. Hermione was particularly interested, and would have derailed the discussion to talk about these forms of travel completely had Neville not kept them on topic.
At the end of the time the two sides had agreed to in order to avoid violating curfew, Draco and Harry discussed the debates they had engaged in over the school year.
"We'll have to do this again next year," Harry said as he sorted his notes, "I've learned a lot from this."
"I agree," Draco replied as he meticulously organised his folder of parchment, "these talks of ours have been very enlightening."
The group of first years continued to chat about less important things as they left the classroom and headed back towards the Great Hall, from where they would split up to go back to their respective dormitories. Ron was talking to Neville about plans for the summer holidays while Hermione listened to Draco and Harry as they discussed past holidays the two had been on. Harry only had his short trip to Japan to draw on, but this was different enough from anything Draco had done that it became the focus of their conversation.
The group was just about to turn a corner when Harry stopped suddenly.
"Drat it, I've just realised that I've left my inkwell behind. I have to go back for it." The Boy-Who-Lived explained as he shrugged his book-bag off his shoulder and offered it to Ron.
"Is it that important?" Ron asked as he took Harry's book-bag as it was handed to him.
"Yes," Harry said over his shoulder as he walked back towards the classroom, "my aunt enchanted it to be ever-full, so I don't want to lose it."
"I don't know why he even has it," Hermione muttered, "he uses a fountain pen almost all the time."
"Some Professors insist on quills," Neville replied, having overheard the muttered comment, "Harry feels it isn't worth arguing with them."
"Hurry up," Draco called after his Gryffindor colleague, "I don't want to miss curfew."
Harry strode down the corridor quickly, and flung open the door as he arrived. He spotted his inkwell almost immediately, and retrieved it in short order. As he left the classroom, he spotted a figure out of the corner of his eye coming from the end away from his friends.
"Potter," the figure growled, "you're coming with me."
Harry suddenly found himself wrapped in rope and unable to move. As he felt himself being levitated into the air, he shouted in alarm.
At the other end of the corridor, the group of Gryffindors and Slytherins engaged in somewhat hesitant small-talk as they waited for Harry. They all looked around as they heard Harry's slightly panicked shout.
"Hey, somebody's got Harry!" Ron half-shouted. "He's getting away!"
"After them!" Hermione cried as she and her fellow Gryffindors started to run. Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle hesitated as the their fellow first years ran off. Draco sighed and put a hand over his eyes.
"That looked like Quirrell to me, I'd recognise that turban anywhere. Greg, you find Professor Snape and tell him what's going on, Vincent and I will follow those idiots and make sure they don't do anything stupid."
Greg nodded and ran to the nearest stairwell as Draco and Vincent jogged after the Gryffindors.
Hermione, Ron and Neville quickly discovered that whoever had kidnapped Harry was moving with unnatural speed, as the trio had to sprint to even keep their friend in sight. All three students were winded when they finally arrived at a door they had just glimpsed their target passing through.
"Wait a moment," Neville said between wheezes, "let's catch our breath before we try to rescue Harry, OK?"
"Makes sense," Ron gasped, "a bit hard to cast spells like this."
Hermione wanted to frown at the suggestion, but found it hard to do so when panting for air. "Fine," she managed to get out, "but we go as soon as we can."
Ron and Neville consciously tried to slow their breathing, helped along by Hermione staring at her watch. Eventually Neville put his hand on the doorknob, looking to his friends as he did so. When they nodded, he tried to turn the handle.
"It's locked." Neville grunted as he tried to force the door.
"Hold on a moment, I want to try something." Hermione said. As Neville moved away from the door, Hermione brandished her wand. "Alohomora!"
The door opened immediately and the three Gryffindors moved through cautiously. On the other side they heard music coming from an unseen source, as well as a large lump in the shadows.
"It's a dog! A giant dog! With three bloody heads!" Ron cursed quietly, backing away a bit.
"It's asleep, let's not wake it up." Neville hissed as he moved up to the wall.
"I don't see Harry, is there another way out of here?" Hermione asked, wishing for more light but not wanting to risk waking the giant animal in the room.
"I think there's a trapdoor over there, past the dog." Ron whispered, pointing to the end of the room.
The three students moved as quietly as they could and looked at the open trapdoor. The room below was even darker than the dog's room.
"We can't just jump in," Hermione muttered, "we need to see how far down it is."
Ron lay down on his stomach next to the hole in the floor and held his wand as far down it as he could before he cast a spell. "Lumos!"
The light from Ron's wand lit up the room below well enough that they could see the floor. "That's not too far to jump, but that looks like Devil's Snare down there." Neville whispered as he peered down.
Hermione quickly cast a bluebell flame charm into the room below. The three students watched as the plant pulled away from the flames, leaving a clear area.
"Let's drop down carefully, hold on to the edge of the trapdoor for as long as you can." Hermione ordered. Ron and Neville nodded, Ron twisting around from his prone position to go first.
Harry was completely disoriented by his trip through the castle, partly because the bindings he was in prevented him from moving his head. After what seemed like an eternity of flying through corridors he found himself being dumped unceremoniously on a stone floor in a badly lit room. The ropes binding him disappeared without warning, but before Harry could react he felt his wand being summoned out of his wrist holder.
"Get up," a voice growled, "I don't have time to waste."
Harry got to his feet slowly, making sure he did not make any sudden moves that may provoke his attacker. He turned towards where the voice had come from and was briefly shocked into immobility.
"Professor Quirrell?" Harry half gasped.
"Of course," the DADA Professor replied, sneering, "who did you expect? Snape?"
Harry shrugged nervously. "I have no idea what is going on. Why kidnap me?"
Quirrell gestured irritably to a large object in the centre of the room. "Dumbledore has secured the Stone in the Mirror of Erised. You are going to get it out for me."
"What Stone?" Harry asked, confused. "And what is the Mirror of Erised?"
Quirrell just stared at Harry for a moment, looking slightly bemused. "You mean to say that you have no idea just what it is that Dumbledore has been hiding in this castle since September? And here I thought you were a Gryffindor."
Harry glared back. "Why would any Gryffindor go and mess with something the Headmaster wanted to keep secret?"
"That's what Gryffindors do, fool," Quirrell grated out, "they interfere where they are not wanted. Now, that mirror has been magicked to store the Philosopher's Stone. Whatever that old fool did has prevented me from getting it out, so you are going to do it for me."
"What's the Philosopher's Stone and why would I be able to get it out?" Harry queried, trying to stall for time.
"The Philosopher's Stone is what the Flamels used to create the Elixir of Life, and it only makes sense that the Headmaster's favourite would hold the key to unlocking that damn mirror."
"Elixir of Life?" Harry asked, "Does that give you eternal youth or something?"
"Let me talk to the boy," a voice suddenly hissed from Quirrell's head, "this is taking too long."
"Are you sure, Master?" Quirrell asked in a timid tone.
"Of course, fool! Now let me speak with him!" The voice hissed back. Quirrell turned around so that his back was towards Harry. The teacher then removed his turban. In the back of Quirrell's head was another face, chalk white with slits for nostrils. It reminded Harry of a snake.
"Harry Potter..." it whispered.
Draco and Vincent came to a stop outside the room where they had seen the three first year Gryffindors enter. Draco cautiously peered around the door which was still partly open. He rapidly pulled his head back and carefully closed the door.
"There's a ruddy great big dog with three heads in there!" Draco whispered to Vincent, "it was asleep but I don't want to risk waking it. I'll wait here, you go after Greg and make sure we get some teachers here quickly."
Vincent nodded and took off at a faster pace than most would have given him credit for. Draco leaned against the wall across from the door and took a few calming breaths. Seeing that beast had shaken him more than he would care to admit.
"Bloody Gryffindors." Draco muttered as he settled in to wait.
Hermione looked at the giant chess set with concern. The flying keys had been tricky enough, fortunately the three of them working together had managed to corral the key, allowing Neville to catch it. The chess pieces in front of them looked a lot more dangerous.
"I guess we have to play our way across the room." Ron stated, looking at the layout with interest.
"How?" Neville asked.
"Maybe we take the places of some of the pieces?" Ron suggested, "If you take the place of a Bishop, Neville, and Hermione takes the place of the Rook next to you, and I can be a knight..."
The three named pieces obediently moved off the board.
"OK," Ron said with a slight hint of nervousness, "let's play."
Harry did his best to stay calm, remembering the lessons he had received from Monkey that emphasised how keeping a level head was critical in a fight. The sight in front of him was making it difficult, however, as seeing Voldemort's face embedded in the back of Quirrell's head was extremely disturbing. It was enough to distract him from the self-serving monologue that the hideous face was hissing out.
"...and now, Potter, you will retrieve the Stone for me." Voldemort finished.
Harry refrained from taunting the Dark Lord, hoping to avoid a fight against a powerful wizard. "How?" Harry asked.
There was a short pause, before Voldemort spoke again. "Look into the mirror and think of the Stone, it should come to you."
"Why me? I've never seen this mirror before." Harry queried as he slowly moved towards the mirror, taking care to keep Quirrell/Voldemort away.
"You're Dumbledore's golden boy," Voldemort mocked, "if anyone can get the Stone it is you."
"Dumbledore's golden boy? I've hardly spoken a word to him all year, and I don't remember meeting him before I came to Hogwarts." Harry replied, his surprise stopping him.
Voldemort looked shocked. "You're his favourite. Why else do you think you were allowed on the Quidditch Team? Of all the students in the school, you get most of his attention."
"I haven't noticed it," Harry said as he moved towards the mirror again, "are you absolutely sure?"
"I am," Voldemort replied, though he sounded a little hesitant.
Hermione and Neville nervously crept past the slumbering troll and quietly opened the door to the next room. Ron had been knocked unconscious when the White Queen had "taken" him as a knight. The two Gryffindors had reluctantly left him behind, not wanting to test whether the rest of the chess pieces were truly inactive following the end of the game.
The next room contained nothing but a table with seven bottles on it. As the pair moved towards the next door, a sheet of black flames erupted from the floor to block their path. Behind them a similar line of flames blocked the return path, though these were purple.
"There must be something in the bottles to let us get past," Neville said as he looked at the table, "but which one and what does it do?"
"There must be a clue," Hermione replied as she walked over to the table, "these have all been tests of ability of some sort or another. Whoever set this up must have left some sort of instructions."
"Snape, I'd wager," Neville commented as he inspected the bottles, "seeing as how these are potions."
"Probably," Hermione muttered as she picked up a note that had been left with the bottles, "let me see what we've got here."
Neville waited patiently as Hermione read. He was relieved to see her smile as she lowered the note.
"This is easy. It's a simple logic puzzle, nothing magical about it. Now let me look..." Hermione explained as she turned to look at the bottles more closely.
"So we find the right bottle and then we can pass through the black flames?" Neville asked, eyeing the conflagration warily.
"It isn't that simple," Hermione responded, "one of these potions will allow you to pass through the black flames. Another will allow you to pass through the purple flames. But there's probably only enough of each potion for one person."
"So one of us goes ahead while the other goes back for help," Neville concluded, "have you figured out which potions we need?"
"Yes," Hermione said as she picked up two of the bottles, "this one," here she lifted her left hand, "will allow you to go back through the purple flames. The other allows you to go through the black flames."
"Only one thing for it then," Neville said as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a coin, "heads or tails?"
Severus Snape stalked through the corridors of Hogwarts at a pace that forced Vincent Crabbe to jog in order to keep up. He had known that this whole game of Dumbledore's was a bad idea, and had said so when the Headmaster had first mentioned it. The only surprise was that it had not, as he had expected, lured a group of dunderheaded Gryffindors in to try their hand at the gauntlet of traps that the senior staff had set up. Instead it looked like it had managed to attract a genuine thief, one who had decided that abducting the Boy-Who-Lived was the best way to get the Stone.
Snape earnestly hoped that no harm had come to the boy, for all that he disliked the son of James Potter. The Potions Professor had a keenly developed sense of self-preservation, and had no desire to find out just how apocalyptic the rage of Potter's guardian would be should the boy be injured.
He had sent Goyle off to summon Poppy Pomfrey as soon as the boy had finished gasping out his message. The Head of House Slytherin had then set off for the room containing Hagrid's wretched pet, meeting Vincent Crabbe en route. Reaching his destination, he was relieved to see that Draco Malfoy was waiting outside the room with his wand in hand.
"Mr Malfoy," Snape said as he came to a halt, "what is going on?"
"We saw somebody kidnap Potter, but it was at the end of the corridor so we couldn't see who it was," Draco began, "Potter's friends ran after them. I decided to keep an eye on where they went while Greg went to find you. They went in here, after I saw that beast I decided that it would be safe to stay out here as a look-out while Vincent went to meet up with Greg."
"Good work," Snape replied evenly as he gestured with his wand, unlocking the door, "now wait here. More help is on the way. I will go in and deal with things."
Draco Malfoy and Vincent Crabbe both nodded. Snape carefully opened the door, noting that there was no music. Muttering to himself, he cast a charm that filled the room with music. He waited for the beast to fall asleep before entering.
I wish I had known that charm earlier, Snape thought to himself, ignoring the phantom pain coming from his leg, but I wish even more that Dumbledore knew a charm that played something other than a children's lullaby!
It was obvious that Voldemort was fast running out of patience. Harry had been in front of the mirror for several minutes but nothing he could think of would change the image from that of himself with his family.
"Why won't it show the Stone?" Voldemort muttered darkly as he glared at the mirror, "it should reveal it!"
Harry carefully backed away from the mirror, moving slowly to avoid attracting the attention of the Dark Lord. Suddenly the door to the chamber opened, causing Voldemort to whirl around.
"Harry!" Neville Longbottom shouted, clutching his wand with an air of defiance.
Voldemort snarled, and Harry could see Quirrell's wand coming around towards Neville. Acting on instinct, he made a sliding step forward grabbed at Quirrell's wand arm in a hold he had learned from Monkey.
The instant that Harry touched Quirrell's bare hand, there was a flash of light that blinded Harry. Blinking rapidly to try and clear his vision, he felt a warm tingly sensation from the scar on his forehead. As his eyes adjusted for the dim light in the chamber, he saw Neville standing still by the door. He looked around to see where Quirrell was, spotting a limp figure on the floor by the wall.
Harry waved at Neville and gestured him forward. Swallowing, Neville moved over next to Harry and the pair slowly moved towards the fallen wizard. As they drew near, Harry saw his own wand on the floor not far from where Quirrell's lay broken. He quickly snatched his wand up while Neville kept his own trained on Quirrell. As he crouched to retrieve his wand, Harry saw Quirrell's head more closely.
He immediately regretted it, as there was now a large hole where Voldemort's face had been. Harry averted his eyes, thankful that the dim light in the room prevented him from seeing anything more. Harry backed away as he stood up, waving Neville back.
The two first years backed away from Quirrell's form, heading in the general direction of the door. Harry kept himself focussed on the body as he whispered to his friend. "I'll watch Quirrell, you keep an eye behind us."
Neville nodded and turned so that he could see behind Harry while still half-facing Quirrell. Neither boy was willing to assume that the wizard was dead.
The pair was almost at the door when it opened suddenly, revealing Professor Snape. The Potions Master quickly took in the scene in front of him, noting how Longbottom had him covered while Potter kept his wand on a body by the wall. He glowered at the two Gryffindors.
"What's going on here, Potter?" Snape said quietly.
"Quirrell kidnapped me and took me here. He had Voldemort's face in the back of his head. He wanted me to get some sort of stone out of the mirror, but nothing I did could get it. When Neville came in, Voldemort tried to curse him but I grabbed his hand to stop it. There was a flash and the next thing I knew, Quirrell was over by the wall. There's a hole in his head where Voldemort was."
Snape blanched as he heard Potter's account, flinching whenever he heard the Dark Lord's name. He stepped to one side to clear the doorway, aiming his wand at the body by the wall.
"Get out of here now and head back to the Devil's Snare room. Take a broom with you and fly back up the trapdoor. I'll be right behind you."
As the two first years quickly departed, Snape cast a charm across the room at the fallen figure of Quirrell. He grunted as he saw the results.
"Dead, then. Dumbledore will have a lot to explain to the DMLE," he muttered as he backed through the door, closing it on the Mirror of Erised.
The atmosphere in the Headmaster's office was tense, with all in attendance struggling to keep their fragile tempers under control. Albus Dumbledore had finished his explanation for the existence of what the DMLE had dubbed the "Trap Rooms" but it was apparent that nobody was willing to believe him. He could hardly fault them, given that he had not dared reveal his true motivation.
Nobody would forgive him for trying to deliberately test the mettle of the Boy-Who-Lived. Knowledge of the Prophecy was still restricted to a bare handful of people, and there was no way the Headmaster would allow that to change any time soon.
As a result, Dumbledore was instead using his cover story. The same one that he had used to persuade his staff to set up the traps in the first place, which roughly stated that Voldemort was trying to return to the world of the living and that acquiring the Philosopher's Stone was part of his plan to do so. Therefore the sensible thing to do was store the Philosopher's Stone someplace safe where Dumbledore could keep an eye on it.
Naturally the DMLE was not impressed by this story, as they did not think that storing an object that would attract He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in a school full of children was a very sensible idea. Considering that the plan had somehow managed to attract the real Voldemort, Dumbledore was beginning to agree. Dumbledore had no intention of testing Harry against the real Dark Lord, at least not at this early stage.
Fortunately for the Headmaster, none of his main political rivals were in attendance. This meant that he would keep his job, as nobody in attendance wanted to leave an opening at the school that might be filled by one of Lucius Malfoy's cronies. That did not mean, however, that Albus was going to get away from this debacle without his reputation suffering. He counted himself lucky that Belldandy Morisato had decided to check on Harry rather than attend the meeting in the Headmaster's office.
"...and keep the Board informed." Sirius finished a particularly long-winded rant, one that had been punctuated by numerous sounds of agreement from Amelia Bones. "If you're really that concerned about the return of You-Know-Who, the DMLE should be involved."
"Quite right," Amelia interjected, "and judging by what we've heard from Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom, it would seem the concern is justified."
Dumbledore simply nodded. He had already tried most of his usual platitudes and they had not been favourably received.
"Know that the Board will be watching you, Headmaster," Sirius stated as he stood to leave, "if you endanger students like this again I will not be able to help you." And now to intercept Belldandy and make sure she doesn't eviscerate you for this cock-up.
The aged Headmaster pasted a fake smile on his face as he rose to escort his guests out of his office. On the bright side, he had the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Quidditch game to look forward to.
Harry Potter felt like the smile on his face was permanent as he sat with his friends during the Leaving Feast. The win over the Ravenclaws had proven to be anti-climactic, as the Ravenclaw tactic of trying to delay the game for as long as possible had proven futile when it became apparent that Harry's broom was significantly faster than anything the Ravenclaw team had. There had been nothing they could do to keep Harry away from the Snitch, even if the Ravenclaw Beaters had tried hard to keep the Bludgers in Harry's area.
With the Quidditch Cup already securely in Professor Sinistra's office, all of the students were waiting to see the results for the House Cup. It was difficult to tell from looking at the point hourglasses, as the totals were close across the board.
"Without any further ado, it is my pleasure to announce the winner of this year's House Cup." Dumbledore announced. "This has been one of the closest competitions I have ever seen, with only a handful of points separating the houses. In fourth place, with three hundred and fifteen points, is Slytherin. In third place, with three hundred and twenty three points, is Hufflepuff. In second place, with three hundred and thirty points, is Ravenclaw. Which of course means that this year's winning house is Gryffindor, with three hundred and thirty seven points!"
Harry cheered along with the rest of his house, admiring the way the banners overhead changed to Gryffindor colours.
"Well done everybody for their efforts in earning house points," Dumbledore concluded as the noise of the cheering died down, "and now it is time for our festivities to come to a conclusion. Good night!"
The next day saw the arrival of their end of year academic results, arriving just in time for the students to pack for their trip home. Harry had done well across all of his subjects, though it had seemed inevitable that Hermione would have the best scores of any first year student. It seemed like no time passed at all before they were in carriages on their way to catch the Hogwarts Express.
"We should try to catch up over the summer break," Ron was saying, "it'd be right wicked to have you over to our place."
"I'll owl you," Neville replied as he watched his owl in his cage, "it would be nice to see some people my age."
"Do you have my address?" Hermione asked anxiously as she pulled out parchment and started to write. Harry retrieved a small pocket notebook and quickly scribbled his address out for each of his friends. As he finished he noticed that Ron and Neville were also busily writing out their contact details, while Hermione seemed to be giving detailed directions on how to get to her home.
Keiichi gently rocked his children in their baby buggy as he watched students emerge from the Hogwarts Express. He noticed Harry emerge from a carriage that was near the end of the train, accompanied by several students in Gryffindor colours. As Harry helped a girl get her trunk off the train, a blond boy about Harry's age approached with two larger boys in attendance. Keiichi noted how Harry had a short conversation with the blond boy before the two shook hands, the blond boy promptly heading away from where Keiichi was waiting with Belldandy, Sirius and Remus. Harry spotted them at that point and immediately turned to where his friends were clustered, gesturing for them to move down the platform. In short order the four children had joined Harry's family.
"I'd like you to meet my friends," Harry said by way of greeting, quickly naming his fellow Gryffindors and introducing his family. They were soon joined by the families of Harry's school friends, and a small happy group developed on the platform.
Belldandy quickly invited everybody to visit them in Hinckley, an offer that was matched by Molly Weasley and Alice Longbottom. The Grangers seemed a bit overwhelmed by the large group but quickly accepted, pointing out that they were planning to visit France that summer and would be away for much of it.
Eventually the group dispersed to go to their respective homes. Harry spent the evening after dinner telling his family about his year at Hogwarts, including details on his confrontation with Quirrell and his "guest." Once Harry and his siblings were in bed, the adults gathered on the patio outside to drink tea and discuss Harry's account.
"I don't like any of this," Remus said bluntly, "Dumbledore was playing with lives of the children at Hogwarts. I'd really like to know just what he's up to."
"I think it has something to do with whatever secret he told James and Lily," Sirius commented, "they never told me what it was that Dumbledore told them when Lily was pregnant, but it started that whole Fidelius mess. And we all know how that ended up."
"Yes, with Harry conveniently stashed away from anybody who loved him and you in prison," Urd stated as she stirred her tea, "whatever it was must have been important as Voldemort went out of his way to target the Potters."
"Whatever it was, I doubt that Dumbledore will be forthcoming," Remus replied, "are we sure we want Harry to go back to Hogwarts?"
"Yes, but with safeguards," Sirius said evenly, "I think it might be a good idea to establish contacts with some of the staff to get an independent viewpoint of what is going on in the school. Maybe those who weren't part of Albus' bird club."
"That sounds like a good idea," Belldandy put in as she picked up the tea pot, "anybody for more tea?"
"I'll pass," Sirius said as he stood up, "if I drink any more tea tonight I'll never get any sleep. Speaking of which, I think it is time to go. Are we still on for the weekend motorbike sessions?"
"Of course," Keiichi replied with a grin, "and I know Monkey is keen to resume his lessons. I hope that Harry remembered to practice while he was at Hogwarts."
Sirius grinned back. "Maybe I should try to get him hired as the new DADA teacher. Get some of the slackers fit."
The group laughed at the idea as they packed up the table.
Author's Notes: Here ends Harry's first year at Hogwarts.
I've let Albus off the hook a bit, because I feel that he's got enough standing in the Wizarding community at this point that he could survive a major scandal. Just wait for a Malfoy-influenced Fudge to get going, though...
Here ends "Harry Potter and the Ultimate Force" - this is not, however, the end of the story. Please stay tuned for "Harry Potter and the Circle of Light" which will deal with Harry's second year at Hogwarts.